Monte Carlo simulation of electron thermalization in gases. V. Subexcitation electrons in rare gases

The thermalization of subexcitation electrons in rare gases is studied by the Monte Carlo simulation (MCS). The electron velocity distribution is found to deviate significantly from the local Maxwellian distribution (MD) even for the initial Maxwellian distribution. Comparisons with available experimental results of the electron energy degradation as well as the electron thermalization time are made. A considerable discrepancy between the theoretical results obtained by the MCS and the approximate theory based on the MD assumption and the experimental results is revealed especially for rare gases with the Ramsauer minimum. The measured electron energy degradation is likely to be much less sensitive to the Ramsauer minimum than the theoretical one.